Chapter 7: The New Game

My throat hurt, I had so many retorts but couldn’t say them.

I quickly grabbed a bottle of water from the desk, gulped it down, then poured the rest all over Derek.

His eyes turned red, fists clenched as if to hit me, jaw tight, breathing hard, but he couldn’t say a word.

I struck first, firing back madly.

“Derek, are you sick? What did I do? I saved your son! If not for me, your son would still be locked up.”

“A seven-year-old locked in a dark room—did you ever think he might be scared, might go crazy?”

“He’s forced to eat food he hates, do things he hates. Have you ever seen him smile?”

“At his age, he wants nothing, but you indulge yourself, party every night, do whatever you want, go wherever you want.”

“He’s seven, but it was his first time on a carousel, first time at the aquarium, first time in a hot tub.”

“What have you done as a father? You just help the accomplices blame, punish, and isolate him.”

“You make him feel like a bad kid, unloved and easily bullied.”

“I’ve taken such good care of your son, you should give me a bonus, not strangle me, you lunatic!”

I cursed happily, adrenaline surging, feeling I could go three hundred rounds with him if he dared argue.

But Derek just said coldly, “That’s how I grew up, those are the Yu family rules.”

I was stunned.

So the madness is hereditary.

Evil is passed down through generations, until a brave soul destroys it.

In this light, Caleb jumping into the lake as an adult is actually ending all the sins.

Suddenly, I didn’t even feel like cursing Derek. I just pitied Rachel Song, who probably never imagined that marrying into a crazy family with so much love would end like this.

I sneered: “So, just because you got wet, you have to tear up Cal’s umbrella? If you believe in this so much, you must love your parents. How come they didn’t show up at your wedding?”

Derek’s face was so dark it could drip water.

He slammed the door and left.

I snorted, then realized I couldn’t find any info about Derek’s parents in the original host’s memory.

I immediately checked my phone contacts and Messenger to see who I could ask.

I found a girl named Melissa.

She was the original host’s friend, the one who introduced her to high-end parties, step by step meeting Derek and marrying him.

I messaged Melissa, trying to ask about Derek’s parents.

She quickly replied:

“Wow, Mrs. Yu finally remembers...”

My phone vibrates, and I exhale, sitting on the edge of the bed, looking out at the city lights flickering along Michigan Avenue. In the next room, Caleb’s soft breathing is steady. The world keeps spinning. I thumb a message back, determined—whatever’s next, I’ll make sure this house learns new rules, even if I have to burn the old ones to the ground.

If the Yu family thought they could freeze me out, they’d better bundle up. Winter’s just getting started.